During a hybrid Senate hearing on Thursday, Dec. 9, Sen. Franklin Drilon pushed for a proposal that will compel all social media platforms to reveal the identity of trolls.
Drilon, who was able to successfully have a political adversary convicted for cyberlibel, said revealing the identity of Internet trolls could help establish a balance between the freedom of speech and the responsibility of the use of that freedom online.
The Ilonggo lawmaker added that trolls just keep on hitting everybody they want in social media because of the anonymity it provides.
“In traditional media, we do not censor, but we make those responsible for defamatory language. We make them responsible under our Revised Penal Code for defamation. In the development that we have because of technology, you cannot avail of this right because of the anonymity of the authors,” Drilon said.
The hearing tackled Senate Resolution No. 953, directing the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision to conduct a review of the country’s existing criminal laws in light of the rise of social media platforms and the rapid advancement of technology.
Committee chairman Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said during his opening statement that despite technological advancements, “our laws should always protect us and our loved ones, our children, from those who abuse the openness of the Internet by spreading disinformation, hate speech and undertake criminal activity using social media platforms.”
He said the hearing was being conducted to address critical gaps in the law since digital or network disinformation is not simply a personal concern but is a worldwide concern that requires governmental as well as stakeholder, corporate, civil society organization interventions.
